Mussels and Fries at Frites, Central

It’s not often that I go back to a restaurant two nights in a row! Actually, I don’t think I have ever done that… EVER. I was talking to a friend, D, one evening, and as he was still at work and I was home alone (Hubby was out drinking with his work mates!) I thought I would catch up to see if he was free for dinner. He was craving fries… good fries, and well I just wanted to eat! So he suggested this place Frites, in Central, a Belgian beer café style restaurant. Apparently, it is the only authentic Belgian Bar that serves no less than 5 Belgian beers on tap and with over 25 bottled beers. Their signature dish – mussels served with frites and mayonnaise!

I love the atmosphere of this restaurant, it’s very casual and relaxed but stylish vibe. I love the long wooden table, the bar, and the wine rack embedded in the walls.

Now the food (sorry pics are a little dark!), we both ordered mussels – I ordered ½ kilo Provencale which was steamed tomato, onions and herbs, served with a side of frites and mayo and a slice of dark rye bread. The mussels were cooked to perfection and the sauce was delicious. The frites were hot, crunchy and soft on the inside, dipped in mayo – they were delightful.

D ordered the ½ kilo of frites house mussels, which was served with steamed diced tomato, onion, light cream and fresh chives. It was very similar to mine, tomato flavoured but a lot creamier. For someone who doesn’t like seafood, he demolished it! He couldn’t really explain why he loved mussels so much but won’t eat fish, lobster, crab or the like… weird indeed!

It was great catching up with D, he is just one of those funny, well knowledge, well traveled guy with never ending stories. There is never a dull moment when you catch up with D!

I was telling Hubby about this place the next day and believe you not, he said ‘let’s go there tonight’ – I was like really? So on Saturday evening, we went to Frites again. Thankfully no one recognised me from the previous night.

Hubby also loved this place – the high ceiling, the beer bottles on top of the exit door, it was all very cool and shick! Saturday was not as busy as Friday night, I made sure I made a reservation,a late dinner at 8.45pm and the place was still buzzing, people eating and drinking.

I was tempted to get their 750grams of roasted pork knuckle served with caramalised roasted vegetables and apple puree but I thought that would be an over kill! The servings were BIG and I doubt I can eat 750grams of pork knuckle and Hubby didn’t want any. He was craving mussels, so we both ordered ½ kilo of mussels each.

I ordered something different, ½ kilo of the Mariniere which was white wine, celery, garlic and mixed herbs. It was a little salty for my liking, I preferred the Provencale – at least you can dip the rye bread in the tomato sauce, the Mariniere was just too satly.

Hubby ordered ½ kilo of Oriental – with garlic, ginger, spring onion and a dash of light soy. I didn’t expect him to pick this, as I thought he would have chosen the Provencale but he wanted to try something different. It wasn’t ‘oriental’ at all. I couldn’t really taste the soy sauce, but it was as salty as my Mariniere – not sure if I am a fan of this either.

Frites doesn’t just offer mussels, they also have fish and chips, schnitzels, burgers, beef stew, duck, bangers and mash and many more.

The waiter / waitresses in Frites were all very attentive and well trained in matching special beers with each individual order. It’s a great place for celebrations or just catching up with friends. I certainly enjoyed the mussels and fries, the venue, the vibe and atmosphere!